The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Aurora Flight Sciences, Boeing and Lockheed Martin as the contractors for the first phase of its Vulture program – a project which aims to design and develop a new breed of solar-powered unmanned aircraft that can remain airborne without interruption for an incredible five years. The objective of DARPA’s Vulture program is to develop a fixed-wing aircraft with pseudo-satellite capability that can sustain uninterrupted flight for over five years at 60,000-90,000 feet with a 1,000lb (450kg) payload, 5kW of onboard power and perform intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communication missions while remaining in the required mission airspace 99 percent of the time. The initial 12-month analytical phase of the program will see the exploration of various vehicle configurations, concluding with a concept design review of sub-scale and full-scale demonstration vehicles. Key technologies to be investigated include innovative in-flight energy collection and reliable propulsion systems using photovoltaic cells and high specific energy fuel cells. [DARPA]
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